KAEO Djery Baptiste

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Jackson96
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Re: Djery Baptiste

Post by Jackson96 » Mon Aug 06, 2018 2:58 pm

Welp, he's a big dude. No idea how good he is, but his muscles have muscles as someone once said about someone else (forget who and who).

Sounds like he'll be eligible when he arrives sometime in December and then will have one more year after this year.
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mlaconte459
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Re: Djery Baptiste

Post by mlaconte459 » Mon Aug 06, 2018 3:17 pm

Can’t teach size like that.. will be a very physically imposing presence especially in conference. Seems like an amazing kid as well, saw that he won some SEC community awards. And moved to the US when he was 15 from Haiti, taught himself English from listening to George Strait country songs. Also speaks French, Haitian Creole, and Spanish Fluently.. not only should he be a help on the court, but he is going to be a great addition to the entire community
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Jackson96
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Re: Djery Baptiste

Post by Jackson96 » Mon Aug 06, 2018 3:44 pm

The "can't teach size" mantra has never been one of my favorites (even though I've used it myself being the hypocrite that I am) especially as the game has moved away from the traditional big man. Reading up on him a little, he sounds pretty athletic for his size and pretty raw on the offensive end. Don't think he developed the way Vandy had hoped for whatever reason and sounds like he was getting squeezed out given the new bigs they have coming in (and I believe he was recruited by Stallings before he left for Pitt) and maybe a change of scenery will help get things kick started for him.

At any rate, if he can rebound and provide some rim protection that's good enough for me. And his personal resume does sound impressive.
Last edited by Jackson96 on Mon Aug 06, 2018 3:45 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Swampy
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Re: Djery Baptiste

Post by Swampy » Mon Aug 06, 2018 3:45 pm

mlaconte459 wrote: Mon Aug 06, 2018 3:17 pm Seems like an amazing kid as well, saw that he won some SEC community awards. And moved to the US when he was 15 from Haiti, taught himself English from listening to George Strait country songs. Also speaks French, Haitian Creole, and Spanish Fluently.. not only should he be a help on the court, but he is going to be a great addition to the entire community
^ What he said.

TheOFFSeason
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Re: Djery Baptiste

Post by TheOFFSeason » Mon Aug 06, 2018 4:28 pm

Was able to see this kid play a lot at Wilbraham &Monson from the time he got to the country with little basketball experience to the time he left for his last year of prep to a school in Texas...he had a ton of potential as a defender, rebounder, shot blocker who could be a big factor in helping teams win games. I have lost track of his development until today, I’m not sure if he picked the right spots to develop, but I am extremely interested in seeing what he has become. He was very skinny last time I saw him so I think his body has developed.

As a side note, a perfect example of having a ton of ‘talent’ instead of quality basketball players was those W&M teams: Baptiste(Vandy), Brantley(Maryland), Okonoboh(UNLV), Karem Kantner(Xavier), Cobb, Montero (Trail Blazers), Heron(Auburn, St Johns). All on the same team and they were barely above .500

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Re: Djery Baptiste

Post by 78 » Mon Aug 06, 2018 4:38 pm

I can't figure this out. Sounds to me like he will be able to play second semester this year, full season next year and first semester the following year, as he has two years of eligibility left. So I guess we will have him for a year and a half because it makes no sense to have him play the first half of the 20-21 season.
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uz2b-len
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Re: Djery Baptiste

Post by uz2b-len » Mon Aug 06, 2018 5:10 pm

Hope he doesn't back out when he discovers our PG wasn't A10 player of the year last year :wink:
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Almontis
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Re: Djery Baptiste

Post by Almontis » Mon Aug 06, 2018 6:11 pm

Another article says he's immediately eligible. If so, that's really exciting. Can anyone confirm?

Edit: looks like Dec. I echo 78's thoughts and wonder how that'll work.

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Re: Djery Baptiste

Post by bobolink » Mon Aug 06, 2018 6:44 pm

Almontis wrote: Mon Aug 06, 2018 6:11 pm Another article says he's immediately eligible. If so, that's really exciting. Can anyone confirm?

Edit: looks like Dec. I echo 78's thoughts and wonder how that'll work.
but what does December mean? December 30 game is Georgia, a team he's played against before. By then, first semester is over and winter session has started.

mlaconte459
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Re: Djery Baptiste

Post by mlaconte459 » Mon Aug 06, 2018 6:55 pm

I believe it’s when first semester is over and he officially graduates he can join UMass. So sometime mid/late December he should be joining the team.. my guess is either Farleigh Dickinson or Georgia will be his first game
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Old Cage
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Re: Djery Baptiste

Post by Old Cage » Mon Aug 06, 2018 7:34 pm

He has CHOSEN to stay at Vandy for their fall semester and graduate.
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Re: Djery Baptiste

Post by Floyd » Mon Aug 06, 2018 7:49 pm

Oh I'm diggin this. Big presence who already has college experience, strong frame, and wants to be at UMass. Looks to be pretty athletic and a smart kid. Great to have that size up front and should get plenty of opportunity
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Re: Djery Baptiste

Post by DTM80 » Mon Aug 06, 2018 7:52 pm

Welcome aboard!

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Re: Djery Baptiste

Post by TruBluMaroon » Mon Aug 06, 2018 8:06 pm

Old Cage wrote: Mon Aug 06, 2018 7:34 pm He has CHOSEN to stay at Vandy for their fall semester and graduate.
So he will need to workout on his own for the entire semester....you might want to lower your expectations for an immediate contribution. He averaged less than 8 mins a game and produced less than 2 points, while he practiced full time with an SEC team.
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